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wiredInUSA - May 2013
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Several other international parties
are working on HTS technology,
including US-based AMSC with
its 10MW direct-drive turbine,
SeaTitan.
GE's
Hydrogenie
uses
superconductors operating at
43 Kelvin (–230°C) instead of
common generator rotor winding
copper wires. According to GE
developers,
superconductivity
could until recently only be
achieved at around 4 Kelvin
(–269°C).
The new superconductors exhibit
the phenomenon at substantially
higher temperatures, requiring
less-complex insulation systems
and less powerful coolingdevices.
They are manufactured by
depositing a superconducting
ceramic layer onto a relatively
cheap base metal.
As there is virtually no electrical
resistance at –230°C, the
cross-section of the wires can be
reduced to around 2 percent of
that of a copper wire of similar
capacity. As a result, many
more windings can be fitted into
an electromagnet – hence a
compact, lightweight design.
GE Power Conversion may have
developed a new component for
direct drive wind turbines with its
announcement of the successful
trial of a high-temperature
superconductor (HTS) generator
called Hydrogenie.
Compared to conventional
generators of similar power rating,
HTS enables compact generator
units with much reduced
mass. The greatest benefits in
terms of size and mass are for
high-torque electric machines
such as direct-drive wind turbine
generators.
Superconductor
technology moves on?